


Eye for an Eye

by Omoni



Series: Random Undertale Stories and Drabbles [17]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Injury and recovery, Post-Pacifist Run, Trust, how undyne lost her eye, misuse of tridents, some violence, surrogate father-daughter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-12
Updated: 2017-11-12
Packaged: 2019-02-01 02:56:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12695757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Omoni/pseuds/Omoni
Summary: For years, Undyne never told the real story of how she lost her left eye.When Alphys asks her, however, she finds herself not only unwilling to lie - but wanting to tell the story, at last.





	Eye for an Eye

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AerisHikari](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AerisHikari/gifts).



> VERY belated gift for AerisHikari!
> 
> *screaming* WHO MADE FANART FOR IT?!!! AAAAAH!!
> 
> GO HERE AND WORSHIP HER!! https://aerishikari.tumblr.com/post/170554402612/day-5-angst-dadgoreandundyneweek-inspired-by

Undyne never liked to talk about it, though she'd been asked more times than she could count. She'd always answer with something different, just to make sure that not only would no one ever know the truth, but there would be amusing confusion in the mix.

"Oh, I scratched at it with a spear and it popped."

"That? I rolled over onto my phone and both melted."

"Really, I just tripped on some grass and landed on some rocks."

"A human ate it."

"Papyrus used it as a meatball. It was very chewy."

And so on.

But only two people (later, three: Frisk) besides herself knew the truth, and that was because one of them was the person responsible; the other, she told out of trust.

* * *

It was a quiet day, one they could finally spend alone and together, and Undyne relished in these days. The whole barrier-breaking-bullshit had made their lives so busy, a kind of busy she'd never experienced before, and while she was happy to be on the surface at last, she was also happy for breaks from that hard work.

Alphys was holding her quite comfortably in her arms, her hands sure and calm as they stroked her hair slowly from her face. That was another reality that would not have existed before the barrier broke, either, and it was definitely something Undyne adored.

They were in their bed, in their small surface apartment, and morning had just crept in through the windows. The sunlight, without fail, always woke them, and this morning was no exception.

"Mm," Undyne sighed, closing her eye and snuggling closer to Alphys, who in return giggled softly. "Love that. Keep it up."

Alphys nodded, resuming her gentle petting, and Undyne was in bliss, the gesture so soothing that it threatened to pull her back to sleep.

"Undyne," Alphys then murmured, waking her up. "I-I'd like to ask you something... personal..."

Undyne blinked, then grinned, curling up closer to her. "Yes, you're sexy," she replied.

Alphys blushed, then giggled. "N-no, though, thank you, but..." Her smile faded. "It's s-something about you. You-you don't have to answer, but... can I ask?"

Undyne looked up at her, noticing her sombre expression. "Yes, of course," she agreed.

"O-okay... h-how... how... did you... how did you really lose your eye?"

Undyne stared at her, struck speechless for a moment. Her first impulse was to lie, as usual, and she even had one ready ("I walked into a door reading hentai."), but she swallowed it. Suddenly, she wanted someone else to know, someone she knew she could trust, and she knew that someone was Alphys. (Later, years later, she would tell Frisk - but not yet.)

She sat up slowly, surprising Alphys into pulling her hands away quickly, and she started stammering apologies right away, her face red and her eyes fearful. They'd been together for almost six months, and yet Alphys was still skittish and nervous when it came to Undyne - and the possibility of being left for any reason.

"Shush," Undyne said gently, placing her hand over Alphys's mouth, silencing her immediately. Alphys's eyes wavered, clearly wanting to protest more, but Undyne shook her head.

"I'll tell you, Alphy," she said gently. Alphys's eyes widened in surprise, shaking her head a little, but Undyne nodded, smiling. "I want to."

When she pulled her hand away, Alphys kissed her cheek - her left one - and nodded, staying quiet. She held her arms out, and Undyne curled up back into her embrace, resting her cheek against Alphys's chest, her eye closing.

Then, in a soft voice, she began.

* * *

She was cocky. She was confident. She knew she could do this. What else was he training her for?

For months, Asgore had been training Undyne to fight him. Each time, he would always win. Each time he won, she blazed brighter with the determination to beat him - well, as much as a monster could be determined, anyway. Each time, she learnt something new, and would always apply it to their next fight.

Today, she felt like she would win. No, she _knew_ she would win. She knew it in her blood, her bones, her very soul. There was nothing else he could teach her, surely; today had to be the day she'd win.

So when they stood a metre apart, their weapons ready and their eyes locked, Undyne grinned, unable to suppress it. He raised an eyebrow, returning it a little, but she was undaunted.

"Your ass is grass, old man," she told him, her hands tightening on her spear.

"I look forward to it," he replied calmly. He always said stuff like that when she threatened him, always indicating that he looked forward to being beaten. And yet, he never just let her win, and she cherished that. She wanted to win on her own merit, her own skills.

And, dammit, today was going to be that day.

He let her make the first move - as usual - and she took it, lunging forward with a spear ready in her hands, shouting out her becoming-traditional shout as she did. She aimed for his chest, swinging her spear forward, but he dodged, instead using his fire to shield the blow.

With a snarl, she turned back and lunged again, this time flicking her eyes to the floor for a moment before she started forward. As she did, a dozen circles of blue light lit up beneath Asgore, and the moment he was about to dodge, they shot up and stopped him, caging him in a prison of spears. Undyne surged forward, aiming again for his chest.

Asgore held his hand out and summoned his trident, before swinging it before him and parrying her spear effortlessly. She jerked to the side, her hand rising up to the left, and a couple of golden spears shot up to life and surrounded Asgore.

He took it in stride, though he was clearly impressed, having not seen them before. He parried three, but had to evade to miss the last one. Undyne saw the opening and lunged again, her spear out and ready.

Asgore flung his arm out towards it, holding his trident to deflect, and that's when it happened.

Undyne threw herself into the lunge, and in that moment, Asgore misjudged how close she was, and the trident hit her - right in the left eye. It caught and snagged it, and Undyne shouted in shock, immediately blinded but not yet feeling pain, her spears vanishing as she reached up and staggered back.

She then fell to her knees, the pain smashing into her like a fist, and she cried out again, feeling like she was about to throw up. When she reached up, her hand was immediately covered in blood. She dropped, both hands going to it, as if to do so would stop the pain, and this time, she screamed, the pain so unbearable that she felt nothing else.

Asgore was at her side immediately, and in her panic, she jerked away, each breath tearing at her throat. She couldn't move, paralysed by it, and she trembled, the little vision she had left slowly darkening with shock.

"Undyne!" she heard Asgore cry, and soon felt him take hold of her again. She didn't fight it this time, feeling as if her senses were being smothered. "Undyne, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

 _"It wasn't your fucking fault, you stupid goat!"_ she screamed, before she promptly passed out, her hands dropping to her sides and from her still-bleeding eye.

Asgore picked her up quickly and ran towards the palace, his heart breaking.

* * *

She didn't remember much after that. She had moments of lucid snippets, like hearing Asgore take the blame for it, or explaining what had happened. She remembered feeling pain in her hand, then the feel - and taste - of something weird and chemical. Seconds after, she felt amazingly painless and relaxed, before she passed out again. She remembered hearing Asgore talking to her, but didn't remember what he said.

When she finally did wake up fully, it was dark, and she was confused. She hurt a little, a throbbing pain completely taking over the left side of her face, and she reached up slowly and touched it, finding thick bandages covering that side of her face.

She suddenly felt sick. She tried to open her right eye, but nothing happened, and for a moment, she was terrified that she was blind. But when she reached up and touched it, it was fine. It was likely the medication.

She heard a door open, and she jumped, feeling abrupt fear. She had no idea where she was, if she was even safe, or what had even happened...

"Undyne?"

The voice was familiar, and she moved her head towards it. She heard the door close, then felt a warm hand touch her right cheek gently.

"Undyne, are you awake?"

"Hnngh," she answered, trying to say yes. She nodded, focusing on that hand and trying to get it to distract her from her pain. It was all she could think of - she didn't even remember how it happened, yet.

"Are you in pain?"

She nodded again, feeling tears well up in her eye, both scared and frustrated.

"Hold on."

She did, and heard something like a switch being pressed. Then, she felt something cold in her arm, before she felt that soothing, warm feeling fill her again. The pain in her eye eased significantly, and she stirred, relaxing a little and slowing her breaths.

"Better?"

"Yeah," she agreed, her voice hoarse and soft. "Thir... thirsty..."

Another pause and some movement, before a straw was placed between her lips. She drank right away, feeling so much better the moment she did, and she drained the glass.

She felt that hand return, and now she recognised it. And once she did, she jerked away for a moment, anger striking her so suddenly that it surprised her.

Then she finally remembered - and started to weep.

Asgore - for of course it was he - leaned down and started stroking her hair slowly, his other hand on hers. She didn't fight it this time, the feel too soothing to deny, but she dug her nails into his hand hard, still angry but needing comfort.

"Undyne," Asgore murmured softly. "I'm so sorry."

With that, she knew. This wasn't just a wound that would eventually heal and leave a cool scar. It was clear: her left eye was gone, blind, and she would never get it back.

"Fuck," she sobbed, feeling as if her entire life was over with that simple word. Her career certainly was, wasn't it? She couldn't be a Guard with just one eye! She couldn't be much of anything!

"Undyne, it's alright," Asgore murmured, still stroking her hair. "It'll be okay."

"No!" she cried, trying to move away again but finding herself too sluggish. "No, it's not! I... I'll never be a Guard, now! I'll... I'll never be..." She sobbed, curling up on her side and succumbing to her tears.

Asgore bit his lip and closed his eyes, still stroking her hair. Undyne had let go of his hand, but he kept it close, just in case.

"You will, Undyne," he corrected gently.

"Go away!" she snarled, her voice breaking. "Please, just go away!"

Asgore winced, then pulled his hand back reluctantly. "But--,"

"Please, Asgore! Just... leave me alone!" she pleaded, desperate, now. She didn't want to talk about this. She didn't want to even think about it. She wished she could just sleep forever and wake up without this ever happening.

"Alright," he said, his own voice wavering. "But if you need me, tell one of the nurses, and I'll be here."

Undyne shook her head, unable to speak, now. He closed his eyes and stood up, then turned and left, closing the door softly behind him.

Undyne let go, then. She just cried, with her whole body, her heart hurting far more than her eye did. When she heard the door open again, she snarled, "Go away!"

"Miss Undyne," a strange voice answered, "I need to check on you."

Undyne paused, realising it was either a doctor or a nurse, then nodded. "S-sorry," she whispered.

She put up with the exam as best as she could, but it hurt, and her tears wouldn't cease - nor would she open her eye.

"Miss Undyne, would you like to sleep?"

"Yes," she agreed, her voice pitiful and small. "Please."

She heard the sounds of something being opened, then felt the doctor take her hand - one that had an IV, she realised, which was why it hurt - and insert a needle into it. She felt a burning up her arm, but before she could say anything, she was out - and glad for it.

* * *

She was in the hospital for a week, mostly due to her drop into depression. She refused to eat, but she did drink, and refused to move from bed. When she got visitors, she barely spoke, her right eye dull and dark with both medication and woe. Asgore never visited again, but he texted her every day.

When she was cleared to go home, with full instructions as to how to take care of her left eye as it healed, she barely cared. She barely even listened, so they gave her written instructions. They also tried to encourage her to ask someone to care of her, but she refused.

The moment she came home, she went to her bed and curled up into it, her eye staring at the wall in front of her.

Everything was over, she realised. Everything she'd ever worked for, everything she'd always wanted to be, was gone in an instant, a ruined, bloody puddle on the training room floors. She could never be a Guard now. She didn't even know if she could get a job in anything.

She sat up, reached into her bag, and grabbed her prescription of pain medicine. She took a double dose, laid back down, and stared at the wall, her thoughts dark and chasing each other, until the medicine kicked in, and she fell asleep.

* * *

For days, she lived a solitary, hermit life. She refused visitors, ignored phone calls, and only texted when people were afraid she wasn't okay.

The thing was, she wasn't okay. At all. She still refused to eat, opting instead for energy shakes, and that was only when she remembered to.

She cared for her eye meticulously, however. She didn't know how or why she found the strength for it, but she did. She followed each instruction to the letter, with a keen sense of detachment, but she did it well, and it started to heal.

But every time she looked at her left eye, she felt sick. It bled a lot, discharged pus even more, and seemed to not want to heal evenly. She looked at it and saw failure, weakness, and foolishness.

She saw it, and saw hubris.

When she was well enough to leave most of her bandages off and use an eyepatch, she was still sluggish and uncaring. She merely shrugged at how she looked, resigning herself to get used to it, as this was now her life.

She didn't want to see Asgore. A part of her yearned for him, for his fatherly affection and tenderness, but when she thought of him, she felt angry and sick. She knew it wasn't his fault, but she wanted to hate him for what he'd done, accidental or not. But she didn't. She couldn't hate him. She just couldn't.

But he kept trying to contact her, anyway. He texted her every day, especially when she never answered his calls, and while she read each one, she never replied. At first.

However, eventually, her resolve started to crumble, and her yearning was far stronger than her anger.

About three weeks later, when Asgore texted her, she replied.

_"Asgore, I know it's not your fault. I know it's not easy for you. I know it was an accident. I'm just so angry and feel so helpless right now that I feel like my life is over before I even got a chance."_

There was a pause, one she knew was him writing back, and she curled up under her blanket and waited, her left eye throbbing a little with pain.

_"Undyne, thank you so much for replying to me, today. I was growing very, very worried. Please, may we meet up at your house? I would like to speak to you."_

Undyne hesitated, wanting to deny him, but she accepted. She then pushed her phone away and closed her eye, positive that Asgore wouldn't come by until much later.

Therefore, when she heard knocks at the door not even ten minutes later, she was confused. Slowly, she sat up and slid from her bed, shuffling to the door, still in her pyjamas. When she opened the door to reveal Asgore, she gaped at him, stunned.

Asgore, the moment he took her in, was shaken. She clearly hadn't showered in a few days, and her hair hung lanky around her face and shoulders. Her right eye was underscored with thick, dark shadows, and she looked too thin, as if she were ill.

"Asgore?" she murmured, her voice small and raspy from disuse.

Asgore's eyes filled with tears, and he leaned down and hugged her tight, shaking. Undyne stood there, still in shock, before something seemed to fray and snap apart inside of her at last, and she burst into tears, grabbing hold of him and sobbing.

He closed the door behind him and held her close, kissing her cheek and stroking her hair slowly. She couldn't stop crying, now, the sobs wracking her entire body. She'd held them in for so long that, now that they were loose, she couldn't even begin to try and stop.

Asgore was patient with her, not once moving away. He held her up on her feet, as she was very close to collapsing, and kept her close as she practically wailed against him.

Soon, though, they did start to slow and calm, and when Undyne was resting heavily against him, still weeping softly, Asgore murmured, "Sit down. I'll make us some tea." She nodded, and he pulled away and walked her to the kitchen table, helping her sit down before he went to the fridge.

She buried her face into her arms, shaking and unable to speak, but Asgore didn't mind. He gave her time and space as he made them both golden flower tea, and by the time it was ready, she had raised her head and looked up at him, her face red and wet, but her tears were slow and almost done. She took her cup and held it to her lips, closing her eye and letting the feel of the steam soothe her. When she took a sip, she relaxed, the taste so familiar and calming that it was inevitable.

After a moment, Asgore said, "How is it?"

"Better," she admitted. "Thank you."

She looked up at him, suddenly embarrassed, but he smiled at her kindly.

"Undyne," he began gently. "I still want you to be my Guard." When she was about to protest, he continued. "I am not done," he said, and she shut her mouth. "I will help you with this, Undyne. I will teach you to work with this loss, to not only get used to it, but make use of it."

Undyne shook her head. "How?" she wondered helplessly. "I can't be a warrior with one eye!"

"My dear, Gerson has terrible vision, and he's a formidable warrior, still," Asgore reminded her kindly. "And I seem to remember a small young girl who chased Gerson until she could fight him."

Undyne blushed, but also smiled a little, surprising her. She never thought she could smile again. "Well, yeah," she agreed between sips of tea. "He's a hero. Of course I had to try."

Asgore smiled at her, the sight of her own smile giving him hope. "Well, Gerson trained me, Undyne," he admitted, and she blinked in surprise. "Therefore, I know I can help you with this. It will be difficult, hard work, and I don't know how long it will take, but I am willing to do whatever it takes for you, Undyne." He paused, his smile fading. "I owe you at least that."

Undyne bit her lip, looking down at her tea. She didn't know what to say to that. Not really.

Asgore noticed, and he reached over and touched her hand gently. She didn't pull away, but she looked up again.

"Undyne, you need help," he said softly.

She nodded, suddenly grabbing hold of his hand tight. She'd missed him, so much. "I know," she admitted weakly. "I... can't eat, not really. I don't like getting up. The only thing that distracts me is taking care of my eye... my eye socket..." She lowered her head, her shoulders shaking as she tried to smother more tears.

"That's good," he said. "It's good you're still caring for yourself. To me, the fact that you're focused on your recovery, however small it may be, gives me reason to believe that you will want to try again."

"I hope so," she admitted, her voice wavering.

"I know so," he replied, squeezing her hand.

He was right.

* * *

Training began again a month later.

Before then, Asgore visited Undyne every day. He brought her food, made it for her, and made sure she ate it. He helped her with the piano, her limited vision making it difficult to see all of the keys, and eventually, she found it getting easier. She kept tripping into things on her left side, stumbling over things she didn't see with her right eye, but she learnt from each stumble, and soon, that stopped, too.

It was Undyne who said, "Let's try again." And when she did, Asgore lit up, kissed her cheeks, and hugged her so tight she coughed - but she laughed, a small laugh, and it made them both feel better.

They started slow, almost from the start. Asgore was incredibly detailed when it came to adjusting to her new defect, reminding her that her left side was now her weakness, and she needed to make it an advantage.

It was hard. Undyne gave up at least a dozen times, storming out of the room in her fury and frustration, only to come back the next day with an embarrassed apology and a desire to try again. Every time, Asgore made as if her tantrum never happened, and she was grateful.

It took another month for Undyne to finally feel as if she was at least competent with her lacking vision. Asgore could see it, too; in fact, he saw more than she did, noticing a glitter in her eye and a smile curving her lips the closer and closer she got.

And it was on one of these days that she shocked them both.

* * *

It was a standard sparring match. Asgore always attacked her left side more, now, honing her attention to it and reminding her that she needed to be extra-careful.

Undyne had just summoned a box of her golden spears, surrounding Asgore with them. He parried them all with his trident, but she moved forward, lunging towards him with a cry. It was all intentional; she recreated the exact moment she'd lose her eye in order to see if she could finally overcome it.

Asgore parried her spear this time, and she pushed against it, gritting her teeth. However, she also reached out with her magic, summoning not just one, but three boxes of golden spears, this time, before jumping back and letting them loose.

Asgore did fine with the first box, and the second took more evasion, but the third - that was his downfall. He was simply unprepared for the barrage of spears, and when he tried to both dodge and parry, he stumbled, and one of the arrows struck his shoulder hard and threw him to the ground.

Without thinking about it, Undyne darted forward and held her spear right in his face, holding him in place. She didn't realise it then, but she kept it held over his left eye.

They stared at each other for a moment, frozen in that tableau.

Then, Undyne realised what she'd done, and her spear vanished, her eye widening in shock. She staggered back, a hand to her mouth.

Asgore sat up - and started to laugh.

Undyne stared at him, and he held his middle and laughed, tears coming to his eyes. He beamed at her, so proud that he was speechless, and from that, she started to cry, feeling both terrible and victorious.

She moved back and knelt down at his side, offering him her arm. Asgore held it - only to use it to pull her close and hug her tight, kissing her forehead between laughs. She was mute and stiff in his arms, still awestruck by what she'd just done.

Until Asgore said, "Welcome to the Royal Guard, Captain Undyne," between laughs.

And that's when she started laughing, too - her laughs mixed with sobs. She clung to him, then, and he held her, rubbing her back in hopes of calming her.

"I'm sorry, Dad!" she blurted out. This would be the first time she'd ever called him that, though she'd thought of him that way for months and months, now. "Are you okay?!"

Asgore's eyes flared open, tears coming to them when he realised what she'd just called him. He blinked them back before he managed to say, "Yes, my daughter. I'm perfectly fine - and so proud."

Undyne's eye widened, too, before she gritted her teeth and buried her face into his shoulder, crying in earnest, now.

"I knew you could do it, Undyne," he murmured. "I always knew."

And now, she did, too.

* * *

Alphys was quiet, her eyes wide and on Undyne's face as she finished. Undyne leaned back against her, closing her eye, reaching up to brush tears away, and Alphys reached over and stroked her hair gently.

"And that's it," she concluded softly. "That's really how it happened."

Alphys kissed her forehead softly, and she smiled. "God, Undyne," she whispered, closing her eyes. "I... I-I'm..." She tried a few more times, then gave up and started to cry, pulling Undyne to her and holding her tight.

Undyne hugged her back, but in slight bemusement. "What's wrong?" she asked gently.

"Undyne, you're so strong," Alphys whispered against her hair, her face buried in it. "You're amazing... No wonder you love Asgore so much!"

Undyne smiled, pleased by this. Alphys had understood it exactly. "Yeah," she agreed. "He helped me through it all. Even when I was surly and stupid." Her smile faded. "He really is like my dad. I really do love him so much."

"Undyne, thank you for telling me, for trusting me," Alphys said, her voice wavering. Undyne looked at her, and she looked back, her eyes full and her lips trembling. "We need to see him tomorrow, okay? We-we should take him out to dinner!"

Undyne smiled again and curled into her arms closer, closing her eye. Alphys held her close, and Undyne replied, "Yes, that sounds wonderful."

It oddly felt cathartic to tell the story at last, especially to Alphys, whom she'd wanted to tell it to for years. Now that she had, she didn't regret it one bit - especially since Alphys was so understanding about it.

If asked by others, she'd still lie. She'd still make up silly stories and avoid the truth.

But at least one of the people closest in her life knew, now. And that felt very good, indeed. She would never regret telling Alphys - and later, Frisk - the truth. Not even close.

**\--THE END--**


End file.
